Members of Congress, including House Speaker nancy Pelosi and Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, vowed to continue certification of the Electoral College vote after a Wednesday riot forced them to evacuate the Capitol.
“We have decided we should proceed tonight at the Capitol once it is cleared for use,” Pelosi announced in a press release. Pelosi described the day as a “time of great sadness.”
The electoral certification was stopped after Congress was forced to evacuate the Capitol after reports of a pipe bomb. The rioters later broke into the Capitol building, and one was killed.
The special joint session of Congress, which convened to count electoral votes, had begun debate on the certification of Arizona’s slate of voters. Republican Representative Paul Gosar was the first to object to Arizona’s electors, which will go to President-elect Joe Biden.
EARLIER: Rep. Paul Gosar objects to counting of the Electoral College votes from Arizona.
VP Mike Pence: “Is the objection in writing and signed by a Senator?”
Sen. Ted Cruz: “It is.” pic.twitter.com/aBr68xhlf1
— The Hill (@thehill) January 6, 2021
Both Democrats and Republicans expressed an eagerness to go forward with the electoral count. Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin told a group of reporters, “these thugs aren’t running us off.”
Sen. Joe Manchin tells reporters he intends to finish the Electoral College certification tonight despite the invasion of the Capitol building by pro-Trump supporters and protesters: “These thugs are not running us off.” https://t.co/aMvXXeBVwG pic.twitter.com/jSCt9dvwwf
— ABC News (@ABC) January 6, 2021
Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth concurred, telling NBC News, “I will not yield to these protestors who are attempting a coup.”
“We must not be intimidated or prevented from fulfilling our constitutional duty. We must continue with the count of electoral college votes,” Romney said to CBS.
Republican Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers announced that as a result of the violence, she would now vote to uphold the electoral college results in all states, KXLY Spokane reported. She had previously said that she would object to multiple electoral slates in order to express concerns about election procedures.